MOOSIC — From the start, the RailRiders bullpen had its back to the wall.

The moment scheduled starter Bruce Billings stopped his pregame warmups, it would be taxed. Add in a bullpen day on tap for tonight — thanks to Alfredo Aceves’ suspension — and it had the makings of a long weekend.

Buffalo’s eighth-inning pounding made it seem that much longer.

Erik Kratz hit a game-tying double off of right-hander Matt Daley, and A.J. Jimenez finished off the RailRiders with a sacrifice fly that sent the Bisons on the way to a four-run rally and a 6-3 win at PNC Field.

Until that critical eighth, the RailRiders bullpen had held the Bisons at bay, threatening to sweep the brief two-game set between the International League North Division foes.

All Miley said he could confirm about Billings is that he was not scratched from the start because he was hurt. But Billings’ replacement, right-handed newcomer Edgmer Escalona, cruised through his three innings in his stead.

Even after lefty Francisco Rondon allowed two runs in the fifth inning, with Jonathan Diaz’s sacrifice fly breaking the scoreless tie, the RailRiders had plenty of time to come back and take the lead.

Which, they did, with some help from the home run ball.

John Ryan Murphy answered Buffalo’s two-run rally by ripping hard-throwing right-hander Aaron Sanchez’s first pitch of the fifth over the left field wall.

The next inning, the RailRiders got to Sanchez again, as Zoilo Almonte hit his team-best 13th homer over the wall in left to tie the game. But the RailRiders weren’t done there.

Yangervis Solarte’s double to left — the third hit of his RailRiders debut — sparked a bases-loaded situation. But Murphy struck out looking, and if not for a wild pitch from Sanchez that enabled Kyle Roller to sprint home, the RailRiders wouldn’t have had the 3-2 edge.

Thanks to a pair of scoreless innings from right-hander Diego Moreno, that lead held until the eighth.

But switch pitcher Pat Venditte, who came in to face lefties Corey Aldridge and Dan Johnson, got off to a rocky start. Aldridge smoked a single to center before the ever-selective Johnson worked a walk.

“The way it was going, we had the matchups we wanted,” Miley said. “We had Venditte to face the two left-handers. We didn’t get those guys.

“We went with the matchups we had and just didn’t get it done.”

Daley relieved and fared no better, though.

Kratz, who barely missed two homers just pulled foul down the left field line, ripped a double to left-center that brought Aldridge around to tie the game. Jimenez’s deep fly ball to right easily brought Johnson home to give Buffalo a 4-3 lead. Back-to-back RBI doubles by Andy LaRoche and Diaz gave the Bisons some insurance to split the series.

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